Larry Harder submitted the following report after a recent visit to Jordan.

A few weeks ago I was in Jordan, and attended a powerful and disturbing lecture in Amman by Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian physician who has been working in Gaza, who many of you may know, or know about. The event was a fund-raiser for BDS Jordan, which seems to be a very dynamic organization, yet only a year or so old. A double-sized hotel ballroom was filled to over-capacity. People were turned away at the door. I estimated somewhere between 1500-1800 people in the room.

Besides the usual conversation about BDS, especially in terms of personal responsibility and individual action, a main issue in Jordan is a pending deal between the governments of Jordan and Israel related to a proposed gas line that would provide natural gas to Jordan from Israel, via the Mediterranean sea ports. (The off-shore gas reserves that are being developed are actually part of Gaza's off-shore territories; therefore this amounts to Israeli theft of Gazan natural resources. Furthermore, any proposed pipeline will likely need to be routed through Palestine -- Gaza or West Bank or both. There are also off-shore gas reserves off the coast of Lebanon, which are a potentially contentious issue with Israel.)

As I understand it (imperfectly) the deal involves a consortium of Israeli and Jordanian companies. When the news hit the papers, all hell broke loose. As you undoubtedly know, 67% of the population of Jordan is Palestinian. This issue seems to be catalyzing BDS Jordan and yielding a groundswell of protest, such that there are indications that the Jordanian Government may be forced to back down. A major public protest is planned in a few days (if it has not already happened) in a country where public protests are not common or even tolerated. Jordan is not a country that openly encourages freedom of expression, so this by itself is a significant action.

Furthermore, another main message of the event was to encourage Jordanian businesses to reconsider their business ties with Israel -- an appeal for a BDS response directly to the business community -- much of which is Palestinian owned. This is a real thorny economic issue that hits Jordanian loyalty and morality right in the gut.

So the word is that BDS is alive and very well, even in the Middle East.

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